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From: Nate Lyons Date: Sat, 22 Mar 2003 Subject: hello again

Hello everyone. I am sending this through a TV at the hotel I am staying at and the keyboard does not work well so sorry if this is hard to read. Well, I have from sometime between the 28th and the fifth before I leave Colorado.

As far as we know we are still going to Kuwait. At this rate, the war will be over before we even get there. The good news is that today in Kuwait the high was only 71 so that''s nice. We can gradually build up to the 130 temp over a little time. Anyway, thanks for all the letters and gifts. All the cookies and snacks have been great. Take care.

Nate

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Ibaked brownies for my brother, Nathan, the day the U.S. started bombing Iraq. I spoke to him on Thursday night, the day after the war started. When the first bombs fell, he was "in the field," still in Colorado, camping out in the cold, digging trenches and training to fight in urban areas. I told him that after living in the snow, Kuwait will feel like a balmy, desert paradise. Almost. "Until the first sandstorm," my husband, Tom, yelled into the phone. Nath said he was sure he''d find plenty to complain about in Kuwait-just like he has in Fort Carson.

On March 25, Nath and the rest of his Bravo Company will start packing their weapons and infantry gear. A few days to a week later, they will fly to the Middle East, most likely "to guard something." Nath said he and the rest of his company were glad the fighting had started. "It should have started months ago," he said. He can''t stand the waiting.

Earlier this month, Nath''s fiancee, Lindsey, flew out to Colorado to visit him. They were married on March 11 at a chapel in Fort Carson, and had a brief honeymoon at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs. My parents and Lindsey''s parents were at the wedding; my sisters and I weren''t. My sister Suzanne and I went to a San Jose Sharks hockey game that night, and left Happy Honeymoon messages on his cell phone.

On March 20, Lindsey flew back to Colorado Springs to say goodbye before Nath''s sent to Kuwait. He was supposed to be on leave until Sunday morning, March 23. The military called him back a day early.

Nath can still talk on his cell phone, and he calls Lindsey almost every day. I talk to him about once a week. Sometimes Nath sounds sad, and anxious, but he says he''s not scared. The last time I spoke with him, on March 20, he said he wants to ship out to Kuwait. "It''s closer to coming home." He wishes he was there already, so he could do his job and so that time will move a little faster. He''s hoping he''ll be back in Oregon for Christmas.

Lindsey keeps a scrapbook of every newspaper article about local boys going to war, every email, and every picture of Nath in his uniform. My mom says she reads all the letters and cards that people send, but then she puts them in a box. There are certain pictures and stories she looks at over and over again. She doesn''t cry every day anymore.